Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh (UK cover)

Title: Archangel’s Storm (A Guild Hunter Novel, 5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (13th September 2012)
Source: Local Library
Blurb:

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price – Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmate . . . and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion tht threatens to drench them both in blood.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Archangel’s Storm is the fifth book in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. The story focuses on Jason, one of the Archangel Raphael’s Seven. Singh introduces us to Princess Mahiya, who has ties to the Archangel Neha and who lives at her court. Singh also continues Dmitri and Honor’s story from Archangel’s Blade through occasional chapters.

I found it really interesting to learn more about Jason. Singh has deliberately kept him as a mystery, and she unravels him a bit in this book. I liked the fact that although we learn more about Jason, he still remains an enigma at the end of the book – that although he changes through the book, he still remains fundamentally the same character. I also thought that Princess Mahiya was an interesting character, especially because of her past and her time at Neha’s court. Singh did a good job showing that a strong female character doesn’t have to be a warrior, as all the other strong female leads in the series have been so far.

Of course romance plays a large part of the plot of Archangel’s Storm and Singh does her usual brilliant job of bringing the characters together. What I most enjoyed about the plot of this book though was the mystery – who killed Archangel Neha’s consort and why? As Singh has shown in previous books attracting the attention of an archangel is not something you really want to do, so I was curious about the killers motivation in this book. I think Singh did the mystery aspect of the plot well. The final reveal was brilliantly handled.

One of the things that I had trouble with in this book, the main thing actually, was that I wondered what it added to the Guild Hunter series. It is a good paranormal romance, and a great mystery. It is enjoyable to read. But, I don’t think it really adds anything to the Guild Hunter Novels. We don’t really learn more about what is going on with the archangels and the angels in this book, and I was to be honest disappointed especially as Jason is Raphael’s spymaster.